Around 6:36 p.m. that evening, Tarango-Rodriguez called Rivera-Beltran and asked if he could use a truck inside Rivera-Beltran's carport for five minutes, according to the indictment. Around 6:43 p.m., agents watching the carport saw Tarango-Rodriguez arrive, and Trevizo got on the phone, according to the indictment. Feds: 30 indicted in cartel-connected drug trafficking group - KMGH South Texas remains a redoubt of the Gulf cartel, despite that organization's clashes with Mexican law enforcement, rival cartels, and between internal factions. Sinaloa Cartel is one of the oldest and most successful drug cartels in Mexico. As CJNG [Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion] has consolidated territory over the past decade, it has added other crimes to its core activity of drug trafficking, OFAC director Andrea Gacki said in a statement. On Oct. 30, the indictment says GPS showed Rodriguez's phone was traveling north on I-25, and around 1040 p.m., he was stopped in the car with Nancy Vargas by Douglas County Sheriff's Office deputies. Later that night while Guadalupe Ortiz was at the airport, he spoke about concealing money in notebooks while going through security with Rivera-Beltran, according to the indictment. Heres how to unlock the dirt, Year-round gardening: Plant this, not that native edition, Tom Sizemore, 'Saving Private Ryan' actor, dies at 61, Attendance data dive: Local performing arts groups may never fully recover, PHOTOS: The Classical Academy falls to Resurrection Christian in state quarterfinals, PHOTOS: Cheyenne Mountain hockey beats Durango 5-0 in semifinals, Brewers' Bracket: Vote for your favorite Colorado Springs breweries, Colorado Springs Mayoral Race | 2023 candidates and issues, GAZETTE PODCASTS | News, Sports, Cold Cases and Lifestyle, Sign up for our newsletters and get news that matters sent to your inbox, By KAITLIN DURBIN Colorado Springs Mexican restaurants accused in money laundering scheme It is believed to have a more horizontal structure, as an organization of allied factions, frequently working together but often in control of different aspects of the drug production, trafficking, and distribution processes. A video showed a Mexican cartel lining up. The Jalisco New Generation cartel, which reportedly provided security for the Sinaloa cartel before splintering off, is considered by the Drug Enforcement Agency to be a top US threat and the best-armed criminal group in Mexico, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. On Aug. 17, agents intercepted a call between Rivera-Beltran and Miguel Diarte, and the indictment says they learned Diarte was transporting a large load of narcotics from Los Angeles to Aurora. And in 2015, he crawled through an opening in a shower area that led to a mile-long tunnel, escaping the maximum-security Altiplano Federal Prison near Toluca, Mexico. Mexican cartel murders bride at altar during her own wedding, kidnaps Taking over a trade once ruled by drug cartels and turning it into an all-cash business could make pot shops prime targets for extortion, black-market competition and robbery. The vehicles driven by Trevizo and Peterson pulled into the carport. Most were never released. Mexican Cartel Member Sentenced to Life in Prison for Violating RICO The bullet-hole riddled roof of a church, the site of a bloody cartel battle in El Limoncito. RELATED: All-time high overdose deaths in country Colorado deaths up 34%. Mexico cartels blamed for squeezing avocado industry - Miami Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. You have permission to edit this article. After a K9 alerted the presence of narcotics in the trunk, the indictment says, authorities discovered a $5,000 stack from her purse, and she gave them Ortiz's phone number, which stopped working shortly after. According to the indictment, the investigation began in April, when DEA agents learned that Samuel Padilla-Romo was selling methamphetamine in the 18th Judicial District and Denver metro area. Contests & Promotions, 2023, Pikes Peak Television, Inc. Colorado Springs, CO, USA, Special Forces soldier who never quit to receive Medal of Honor nearly 60 years after grueling firefight, DOJ ramps up its allegations that Texas is judge-shopping in cases against Biden, Germanys Olaf Scholz to meet Biden on Friday after transformative year, Woman pleads guilty to threatening Michigan 2020 election official. True, its a little weak but I'm grateful to the volunteers at BB.As far as the pentagon spending goes you're preaching to the choir. He had previously changed his profile image to the logo of the criminal organization's special forces 35th battalion. The five men were shot and killed when Surez, a resident from San Antonio, Texas, refused orders to pull over. Through these calls, the agents determined Tarango-Rodriguez was Padilla-Romo's source of drugs, according to the indictment. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver is prosecuting the case. FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2016 file photo, a handcuffed Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is made to face the press as he is escorted to a helicopter by Mexican soldiers and marines at a federal hangar in Mexico City. He . "Mexico is already in Colorado without the risks," the agent, who requested anonymity, said of the state's heavy pre-existing cartel presence. Interactive map reveals when you may see SNOW. Specifically, the indictment says Zytacua had calls with users about the cost of 30 milligram pills, which agents believed to be fake fentanyl pills masked as M30 oxycodone pills. Analysts are still trying to work out the long-term effect this shift will have on Mexican cartel finances and violence. Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. "CJNG's rapid territorial expansion is characterized by the organization's willingness to engage in violent confrontations with Mexican Government security forces and rival cartels," as in a 2015 incident in which CJNG gunmen downed a Mexican military helicopter, as well as more recent cases of grisly displays left behind in Tijuana. I am a regular poster to bb and I live in Boulder, We have 50,000 college students and more hippies then woodstock, We have more medical marijuana dispensaries than starbucks and ALOT of people smoke weed in this city, If the cartels are here they stay hid really well, The police are so lax on tokers here you could blow smoke in their face and they would smile, From a business perspective I'm sure Boulder is a giant cash cow for them. On Sept. 19, Rivera-Beltran called Beltran-Beltran and spoke about "chocolate" (believed to be heroin), "paint" (believed to be liquid meth), and prices of meth. Mexican drug cartels also convert wealthy Chinese nationals' Renminbi (RMB) to US dollars at a lower rate than the prevailing market rate. According to newspaper Tribuna San Luis, Municipal Police with the support of the Mexican Army (SEDENA) surrounded a building on Hidalgo Avenue and 20th Street where a vehicle matching this description had been spotted. I want to congratulate the outstanding federal, state, and local law enforcement cooperation that resulted in this highly successful operation. Agents discovered several calls between Padilla-Romo and Tarango-Rodriguez where they spoke about prices for pounds of "work," which investigators believed to be meth, according to the indictment. In late June, the indictment says Zytacua continued speaking to multiple customers about selling cocaine, meth and heroin. Meth pipeline into Midwest reveals CJNG drug cartel's 'honey hole' On Aug. 25, an undercover agent called Jorge Escamilla and had a conversation about "hides and traps in vehicles" before, the indictment says, the conversation turned to Rivera-Beltran. In tourist destinations such as Puerto Vallarta, CJNG has become heavily engaged in timeshare fraud, which often targets U.S. citizens. The document alleged that Surez was also a member of the Cartel del Noreste. In one conversation, the indictment says the two spoke about the price of ounces, pounds and "balls," which investigators identified as "eight balls" of meth. According to the DEA, Mexican drug cartels continue to expand their presence and forge partnerships with other transnational gangs, U.S. street gangs, prison gangs, and Chinese money laundering organizations. The restaurants would buy food from El Potosino and accept invoices for items they did not order or receive so checks could be cut to the company and Aguilar-Martinez, 48, who is in the U.S. illegally, the complaint said. The U.S. war on drugs began under the administration of Pres. How the Sinaloa Cartel rules - Brookings Federal agents seized a slew of drugs in the case, including about 400 pounds of methamphetamine and 15,000 fentanyl pills a powerful synthetic opioid that were disguised as prescription oxycodone, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver. The indictment says Escamilla called Antonio Ortiz and told him "everything went to hell and that the police got them." The indictment contains 45 counts, including an asset forfeiture allegation against the stash houses that were used to hide the drugs. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The indictment says six rectangular bricks with "CHANEL" stamped on them that tested positive for cocaine were found in the vehicle. She wants you to know he's more than a number, 2 Colorado nurses illegally took controlled substances at work, U.S. Attorney's Office says, About 3,184.43 grams of 30 milligram fentanyl pills (about 41,500 pills). BLO activities remain more dispersed throughout the United States, with heavier concentrations in areas with large heroin markets," said the DEA. This organization is alleged to have moved large amounts of meth and cocaine from Mexico to Colorado, with devastating impact on communities in their wake. How Mexico's Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacin rules - Brookings 9Wants to Know examined a situation report from the US Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, which says the Juarez and Sinaloa cartels are active in five Colorado cities. "They have found that it's easier to grow and process marijuana in Colorado, ship it throughout the United States, than it is to bring it from Mexico or Cuba," Elder said. Rivera-Beltran then said that some of the money was his and told Beltran-Beltran to get a new phone number, the indictment says. All rights reserved. They go by nicknames like "The Little Queen" and "The Missus.". Investigators said Rivera-Beltran began negotiating with a person later identified as Juan Francisco "Guerito" Sarabia-Mancinas for pounds of meth and pills believed to be fake 30-milligram oxycodone pills. The legal marijuana industry could be the fastest growing sector of the. He then asked Maritza if she found the "water" in the air duct and the "work" hidden in a closet, and spoke about what authorities found and took, including the Corvette, the indictment says. Rivera-Beltran said he arrived in Phoenix that day around 5 a.m., which was confirmed by GPS, told him to hide the money well, and Escamilla to bring 55 stacks of $100 bills to reduce bulk, according to the indictment. Jalisco New Generation. Heroin is where their making money. Wilberto Mata was shot 10 times by soldiers following a high-speed chase pre-dawn Sunday after the driver, 21-year-old American Gustavo Surez, failed to stop. The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: Mafia Mexicana), also known as La eMe (Spanish for "the M"), is a Mexican American criminal organization in the United States.